A Tale of Two Cities. Jakarta and Surabaya take different approaches to dealing with COVID-19.

On 17 September Jakarta re-introduced strict social restrictions (PSBB) to combat ever-increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases. Surabaya, Indonesia’s second biggest city, faces a similar problem but has not re-implemented tight restrictions. Why?

The Loop is a favourite place in Surabaya where young people meet and enjoy one another's company. However, do they follow the health protocol? Source: Photo courtesy Nadia Egalita/Surabaya, 5 Oct 2020.

In the face of growing COVID-19 cases Surabaya has asked citizens to take responsibility for their own health. One reason is the practical difficulty of administering strict PSBB.  But there are also other significant priorities.  Bagong Suyanto, Professor of Sociology in the Faculty of Politics and Social Sciences at Airlangga University, contrasts how Jakarta and Surabaya are dealing with the pandemic.  

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Prof Bagong Suyanto from Airlangga University believes, not to re-implement tight restrictions but urging people to protect themselves is a realistic decision. Source: Photo courtesy Nadia Egalita/Surabaya, 2019.